Black Knights fall in overtime thriller
Robbinsville – Anyone reading the record book in the future will come across Friday’s home game against Swain County and see that Robbinsville suffered its eighth loss of the season.
Perhaps what might get overlooked is just how close the game was.
The Black Knights (1-9, 0-4) battled the Maroon Devils (6-6, 4-2) tooth-and-nail during what evolved into an overtime war – showing the home crowd the vast improvements made from the beginning of the campaign – but ultimately fell, 71-67.
“By far, the best effort that we’ve had all season,” said Knights head coach Jake Beasley. “I feel like we’re fixing to come on, because we’ve had a couple of days of practice where we’ve been getting our legs back and getting out of football mode.”
Robbinsville started the game on a 7-0 run, sparked by Chris Wright busting a 3-pointer on the first play of the saga. Swain would surge back and take the lead, but the Knights had cut the deficit to 13-12 by the end of the first quarter.
Swain went on an 11-2 run to begin the second, holding Robbinsville down on the strength of a full-court press. But the speedy Knights hung tough, weaving through the heavy traffic and only trailing 30-29 at the break.
The Devils eventually built a 9-point lead midway through the third stanza, but the Knights chopped it down to five. Brock Adams would later complete a 3-point play that gave Robbinsville a 62-61 lead with 1:31 left in regulation, but the Devils kept breathing fire down the Knights’ back and forced free basketball as a result.
With every play crucial, Landyn Hall had back-to-back putbacks in overtime, both of which pushed Robbinsville ahead. But the Devils would tie it and seal the game with Judaiah Littlejohn stepping up to the foul line in the closing seconds, sinking four shots that put Robbinsville’s first win of the season on-hold.
The loss came just three days after the Knights had narrowly missed out on victory, dropping a 53-50 road excursion to Rosman – winless going into the game – on Jan. 7.
“After that game, several of the seniors stepped up and said, ‘Guys, we’re not losing to Rosman again,’” Beasley said. “Sometimes, you can just tell; you can just see it in kids’ eyes: they were affected by it.
“I told the guys in the locker room, ‘This is my fault’ (speaking on the Swain loss). We’ve got to be better prepared – in pressure situations – to know what to do down the stretch. We had a play called with 22 seconds left and didn’t even get to run it; we turned it over. But I do feel like they left it all out there.
Adams led the scoreline with 13 points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist. Seth Lawson dropped 12 points, seven rebounds and one steal on Swain County, with Wright adding nine points, four rebounds and one assist to the final outcome.
Others Knights to score were Clayson Lane 8, Hall 7, Jeb Shuler 6, Hunter Brooks 5, Dalton Capps 2, Nathan Collins 2, Drey Keener 2 and Bryce Teesateskie 1.
Monday brought Highlands (4-10) to town. The Black Knights led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter and the game was deadlocked 38-38 at the outset of the fourth, but sadly, the end result was another narrow loss: 58-55.
Hall led the Robbinsville offense with 15 points. Also scoring was Brooks 11, Lawson 7, Adams 6, Wright 5, Teesateskie 4, Lane 4 and Collins 3.
Tuesday paired the Knights with another Little Smoky Mountain Conference school, Nantahala (5-10). Robbinsville etched out its first win of the year in a hotly-contest 68-63 final.
Collins led the Black Knights with 16 points against the Hawks. Also scoring was Lawson 15, Adams 11, Hall 9, Wright 8, Capps 7 and Brooks 2.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville (5-2) split its junior varsity schedule last week, dropping a 43-37 game to Swain, but rebounding to thump Highlands, 53-24.
In the loss to the Maroon Devils, Kamdyn Jordan led the Knights’ scoreline with 14 points. Others to score for Robbinsville was Isaac Wiggins 7, Eddie Brooms 6, Bo Rattler 5, Rossi Wachacha 3 and Dasan Gross 2.
The win over Highlanders was once again led by Jordan, who posted 17 points. Adding to the cause was Wiggins 12, Brooms 12, Wachacha 7, Gross 4 and Carlos Wesley 1.